Trafalgar Law week drabbles
by Rainripple
Summary: Drabbles i wrote for Trafalgar Law week 20th-26th April 2015.
1. Day 1-Heart pirates

"Penguuuuuuuin what's the point of this?" Shachi yawned. He sat cross legged in front of a projection from the surveillance den-den mushi showing the kitchen which was,at the moment, empty. Penguin was sat beside him, keeping his eyes fixed on the scene.

"You're the one who wanted proof." Penguin was keeping his answers short and clipped, too intent on keeping an eye out for any movement that might signify the presence of whoever the mystery benefactor was.

"But there isn't going to be anything!" He pouted. "There's nobody else on this sub aside from you who can cook like that."

The subject that they were discussing was a pot of soup that had somehow managed to turn up on the stove without anyone noticing at the beginning of that week. The person who had found it first was Shachi. He had been on one of his early morning raids when he had come across the pot of soup that was hot,fresh and surprisingly tasty. Well it was tasty to him. Nobody else got to try it because Shachi ended up drinking the whole pot. He had assumed the person who had made it was Penguin, the main chef on the submarine but he denied having anything to do with it.

They thought that it would have been a one off but the next day there was yet another pot of soup waiting there. This time there was a note on it saying "This is meant to be for the sick person." The writing was written on in block capitals so they could not determine whose handwriting it was but the message got through and Shachi left it for Jean Bart who had been feeling a little more than just under the weather (Shachi still managed to sneak himself a small portion though).

This had carried on for a few days until eventually Penguin had decided to prove to Shachi that the soup had nothing to do with him. So that's how they came about to be sat in their dark room watching the surveillance den den mushi that they had planted in the kitchen at the witching hours. Shachi kept trying to fall asleep but had no luck as Penguin kept him awake with a firm wake up slap to the face. There was so little action though that Penguin himself was almost falling asleep when a flicker of movement caught his eye.

"Shachi, Shachi wake up." Penguin firmly nudged Shachi in the stomach to grab his attention in time to see a familiar figure walk in the kitchen.

~~~

"This should be the last time I think." Law muttered to himself as he walked in to the kitchen to make the last pot of soup. Jean Bart was almost fully recovered so he figured that he'd only need one more to help him along the way. It wasn't mandatory but Law felt like being generous so he thought he'd help speed the process up.

He attained most of his experience from back when he was being carted around North Blue as a child by Corazon. His cooking ability had been needless to say, poor at best which had encouraged Law to learn to make his own food in order to avoid being forced to ingest the dark matter that Corazon seemed to produce and risk food poisoning. He didn't have anyone to teach him specifically but the fear of contracting a extra illness on top of the one threatening his life was enough to force him to learn fast in some way or another.

Learning how to make soup was one of the first things he learnt to do and he found that it often helped him recover from an illness faster. So naturally as a captain looking out for his crew, he liked to make them soup as a treat whenever one of them was ill. He hummed a little song to himself as he began to prepare the ingredients, oblivious to the den den mushi that two of his crew members were watching him through.

He'd made this specific recipe hundreds of times so the process came easily to him but he'd never get bored of breathing in the fragrances that drifted towards him. The kitchen was silent save for the sounds of his knife cutting up the vegetables on the chopping board ( as much as he loved his sword it would have been a bit extreme if he used Kikoku in this instance.) and the bubbling of the soup on the cooker.

It was only when everything was in the pot that he finally sat down on a stool, preferring to stay beside the pot to make sure it didn't burn rather than return to his room. After a small while, he taste-tested the soup and decided that it needed a little more salt and pepper. He found however that he'd used up the last of the salt and pepper in the containers he'd been using. The herb cupboard was only about a meter to his left so he reached for that and felt something that didn't belong in there...

~~~

By this point the whole Heart pirate crew was gathered in the room,watching their captain making soup. Everything seemed to go in slow motion when they saw his tattooed fingers begin to reach in the cupboard where they had hidden the den-den mushi.

"Shit shit Penguin, the captain's gonna-" his fingers covered the front of the den-den mushi making the screen black. "-find out..."

Law quickly pulled his hand back from whatever foreign object he'd touched and gave the cupboard a quizzical look. He pulled the door open a little more to finally discover the small surveillance den den mushi hidden inside. He took a couple of steps back and some of the crew members began to snigger at the priceless expression on his face. He was clearly surprised, that much was obvious from the wide eyes and the way his mouth was grimacing.

The crew suddenly noticed his hand open and the ladle (still full of soup) that was being held by it begin to tumble to the ground. Law's attention switched away from the den den mushi to the soup that spilled out from the ladle and onto his spotted pants. Everyone in the crew was rolling around with laughter as they watched him jump up with shock and accidentally trip over, falling on his back.

"This is rich Penguin oh my god." Shachi said in between giggles as Law shot back up to grab a towel to wipe his pants.

A few minutes later, Law finally regained his composure and the crew winced when they saw him shoot a glare at the den den mushi before leaving the kitchen.

"Shit he's gonna kill us."

Penguin gave Shachi a pointed look. "Now do you believe me?"


	2. Day 1- Donquioxte family

"Law stop being such a stick in the mud!"

"Buffalo stop whining like a little bitch, I don't have time to be playing around." Law said without lifting his head from the book he had on his lap. He brushed away a couple of snowflakes from his book, ignoring the defeated sighs from Buffalo and Baby 5.

There was tons of snow everywhere on the winter island they were docked at so naturally like the children they were, they were making the most of it but they couldn't quite enjoy it to the fullest without a certain somebody. Somehow in the last year or so, Buffalo,Baby 5 and Law had formed a threesome and they often did things together although with some things they had to (sometimes literally) drag Law into joining in. They couldn't believe how much time Law spent studying, how anyone could be as intent at studying as he was.

He had his own oddly calculated mindset that attempted to find him things to do that would benefit him in some way so he rarely did things for fun. Even if they tried to ignore the possibility that they couldn't find a cure for Law's illness and he died before he could become the doctor he aspired to be, they still couldn't comprehend why he tried so hard. They accepted his ways eventually but that didn't stop them from finding any opportunity they could to make sure Law had some sort of fun.

Buffalo looked at Baby 5,nodded and bent down to make a snowball that he promptly lobbed at Law's head. They giggled and ran to hide behind a rock or a tree as he looked up to glare very angrily at them.

"Why you little dipshits..." He growled as he set his book aside and rose to meet their challenge.  
"Hey hey Law, mind the language." Baby 5 taunted before ducking to dodge the snowball aimed at her.

Buffalo and Baby 5 laughed their heads off and ran around like headless chickens, trying to dodge the mad flurry of snowballs that were aimed at them. They were pleased that they had succeeded in their task which unfortunately was not the case for Law. He would have just ignored the snowball and only glared at them but his pride refused to let it settle at that. It was Buffalo for christs sake who hit him and Law was not about to let him get the last word.

He did manage to get them a few times but there's only so much one person can do against two especially when they kept working in tandem, one distracting him whilst the other one bombarded him with snow.

Buffalo was sniggering to himself when he was suddenly knocked over by a snowball . He looked up to see Doflamingo leering at him.

"Oi, that's not fair young master!" Buffalo moaned.

"Hey Doflamingo, I can fight my own battles, keep your butt out of it." Law snapped.

"Here's a lesson for you Law." The smile on Doflamingo's face widened. "Learn to accept help when you need it."

They had a mild stare-off before it was broken off when Doflamingo moved to block a snowball that was flying towards Law. Law frowned but he let it slide without a snide comment. The battle was beginning to turn in his favour as Doflamingo and Law soon combined their tactical prowess and teamwork to beat Buffalo and Baby 5 to the point where they'd both been hit in the head so many times that they were almost seeing stars.

As it was beginning to wind down as both sides were getting exhausted, the mass of snow flying all over the place temporarily stopped when Doflamingo realised that at some point Corazon had walked into their line of fire and he'd accidentally hit him with a snowball. Doflamingo stepped out from the barricades that they had made and walked over to his brother who was lying on the floor (that was due to his natural clumsiness though and not a extraordinarily hard snowball.)

"Hey Roci are you o-" Doflamingo said before he was stopped by a snowball exploding in his face. Corazon smirked at him as he stood up to dust himself and raised a teasing eyebrow. They blinked at each other for a bit before the snowball fight resumed again, this time between the Donquioxte brothers. The children watched for a little while before trying to join in themselves. Law joined Doflamingo's side while Buffalo and Baby 5 decided to side with Corazon.

After half an hour, all 5 of them lay in the snow panting hard from the snowball fight that they had all participated in. Essentially, Law and Doflamingo had won, but to Buffalo and Baby 5, it felt like they had won in the fight to get Law to stop being a stick in the mud.


	3. Day 2- Ope Ope no mi

Sometimes when Law eats strawberries, he gets reminded of the devil fruit he ate. They're both heart shaped and they're the same colour almost though not quite the same size. He doesn't think about the physical similarities though, he thinks more about the philosophical connections the Ope-Ope no mi has to his life.

He didn't get to taste much of it due to it being shoved down his throat so quickly but what he did manage to get was hint of its bitter taste and that's what his life feels like. Bitter.

All he ever wanted was to become a doctor and have a normal life. Though he did eventually become a doctor/surgeon, he didn't quite get the normal life he desired. All the tragedies scattered across the timeline that is his life have not failed to make themselves well remembered by the surgeon. It's not like he would forget them either. Afterall it would be extremely difficult to forget about the deaths of pretty much everyone you have ever cared about.

No, it's just that life has to be a bitch. The trauma is heavily imprinted in his memories but it only really comes out to terrorise him in full clarity when he goes to sleep. The rational part of him disappears in his dreams and he's unwillingly tricked into believing that he is a child again watching the people he loves, the people who are practically his world, die. No matter how many years pass, he is still affected by it to the point where he wakes up screaming and trembling in bed, warily watching the shadows of his room like they're going to kill him.

Maybe he should die. He should have died when he was 13 but he's twice that age now. There would be plenty of people who would be glad to see him gone. He contemplates death but quickly discards the idea. He has a crew to rely on him and taking the cowards way out of life by suicide would undermine all of Corazon's efforts.

Yes that's the other more positive side of life that the Ope-Ope no mi is linked to. While it is true that the Ope-Ope no mi practically caused the death of one of his beloved people and occasionally reminds him about his darker days, it also makes him think of the positive side.

It's the heart shape. Cliche, he knows but the connotations make sense. He contemplates all the happy, almost fluffy moments he had with his family, events that will never happen in the present and will only ever continue to exist as long as all the memories stay clear. The small details are starting to go fuzzy and he fears that one day he'll no longer be able to remember the face of his Lamie so he clutches those memories while he still can.

He remembers those goofy, almost embarrassing moments with Corazon with a wistful smile. There was touching moments as well, words said between them that brought them closer together and while he does remember those fondly, the memories he cherishes most are the ones where Corazon was his natural clumsy self. There was so much more to him and Law wishes that he was still alive so he could learn more about his complex character but he puts up with his absence and treasures those memories too.

His crew are just as ditzy as Corazon. Maybe that's why he loves them so and values his time with them as much as his other positive memories. Perhaps even has a bit of overprotectiveness due to his reluctance to once again lose someone he loves.

The memories aren't the only positive thing. The powers it grants him, while they came with a price and the reward perhaps cannot redeem the losses, it does allow him to do the very thing he wants to do and that is to preserve life. Granted, maybe he would still be a talented surgeon without the fruit but there have been many times where a crewmate of his has come close to the void and he feels immensely grateful that he has this fruit which can let him save his comrades.

So yes, strawberries make him think of the Ope-Ope no mi, the fruit that brings both sad and happy memories, brings both life and death. It effectively brings potential for good and bad and if he thinks about it enough, perhaps that isn't too bad.


	4. Day 2- Kikoku

Cursed swords are fickle about their masters and will not hesitate to eliminate any wielders who they deem unworthy of possessing them. They themselves cannot do any harm but they have their own dark influences.

Kikoku was one of those cursed swords and she came across many wielders and sat in a range of sword shops. Every man or women who came to have her under their possession she deemed unworthy and within a day, a week or a month, they were dead. It was years before she finally found one decent enough.

The moment Trafalgar Law walked in, her dark aura practically shook with excitement. With every passing moment, she found more and more qualities that made him perfect. He was a good height, not too short that he would be unable to use her properly. He wasn't a fool but he was also not overly strict. He had a sassy attitude to match his appearance and instead of quaking in his boots like a coward when he was told that she was a cursed sword, he only simply smirked. Judging by the curious glances he shot at her, she almost deceived herself into thinking that he could hear her whispering.

Years passed by and she only found herself liking him more. He had an extremely dark past and almost equally dark bags due to the frequent nightmares he had (she had peeked into a few of them herself) yet except for the few moments after the nightmares where he was still under the influence of sleep, he never let them affect his daily life too much at least. He did not allow them to cripple his capability.

He was civil, he was snarky, he was neutral. Her interest was piqued by his ability to have the personality to fit the situation though what she was really more interested in was his bloodthirsty nature. Granted it was only a small part of him but it was enough to be an important factor in feeling him to get him through the day and complete his plans.

Trafalgar Law was certainly an interesting man and he was the one for the sword known as Kikoku. 


	5. Day 3- Quote

"Weaklings can't pick their way of death."

Law held back a wince as he said the quote in an apathetic voice. He couldn't afford to betray his thoughts to the G-5 Marines opposing him. He'd built up a reputation for himself and he was going to maintain that for as long as possible.

He hated how he'd unconsciously borrowed the phrase from his arch-nemesis,Doflamingo, but he couldn't deny that there was some truth in it. Weaklings had no control over anything including their deaths. Law knew that himself; he had been a weakling all those years ago when he was a child. He had pretty much born to die from the hands of the World government's selfishness and though he was still alive, it was only due to the actions of others that he was somehow able to come out alive (albeit severely traumatised).

But the strong didn't always have absolute control over their own lives. While the strong could defend themselves better, there would always be someone out in the world who they could not win against. It was only through training himself,building up power and improving his tactical skills that Law was able to become strong and versatile enough to keep himself alive. He had more influence on his own fate but he acknowledged that there was people out there with more power than he did. Doflamingo for example.

And that's when an idea came into his head. He knows the Straw hats are on Punk Hazard now and smirks a little to himself. Luffy would make a good ally and give him some much needed firepower. He might be the important key that decides whether Law will succeed in his revenge or fail miserably and die. He just needs to make a plan and maybe some backup plans. He enjoys the thought of Doflamingo losing the fight and proving that even the strong have no control over their death.

I'll be the one to decide your fate Doflamingo Law thinks to himself.


	6. Day 4- Aesthetic

Law often thinks about how ironic it is that most of his attire consists of clothes with some sort of fluff, a stark contrast from his cold,hard nature. He can't help acting aloof, it's just what he's what he's gotten used to doing. His favourite shirt is the one with a feather collar. It feels soothing to just breathe into it and remember snuggling into the huge feather coat that Corazon used to wear. The feathers aren't charred and dusty like his was but that doesn't matter, they still make him think of the good times unlike so many other things.

It's not like anyone really pays attention to his fashion sense (it isn't distinct and flamboyant like some of the members of the Donquioxte family are like), they're more concerned with the danger he potentially poses to them. And that's fine by him. He's not about to change his style when his intimidating aura is enough to make them quake in their boots. The fluff helps keep him warm anyway, stops him from being cold and remembering the night where everything that had seemed right turned upside down. It had been freezing back then and that's perhaps a reason why he detests the cold.

He's seen the eyebrows some people raise when they see his spotty pants and his equally spotty hat. The pants are another reminder of his past though the memory in question is a darker thing altogether. Though the colour is not the same, the shapes are still similar enough to mimic the mottling that his skin used to have when he had Amber lead disease. Nobody's going to make that connection though, he's not going to let anyone know about those dark times.

The hat wasn't meant to be a reminder. It's just one to replace his old hat. His first hat was a gift from his deceased family and he was glad that his younger self wore it almost literally all the time. If that hadn't been the case, he could have lost that too and had nothing as a memento from his early childhood. It got tatty and he outgrew it but he kept it, even when he got a new hat to replace it. It was almost a replica save for a few extra spots on the rim. He changed hats again and though he changed to a different style of hat, he kept the spotty theme. Perhaps it was for nostalgic reasons.

His tattoos are the most outstanding feature on his body by far. He's not a narcissist but he will admit, the symmetrical ink patterns go well with his toned muscles. There's a story to be told behind every single one of those from the crosses on the back of his hands to the large stylised heart on his chest. Some of them are tributes and some are reminders. There's some irony on the array of hearts covering him. One might assume from those that he's a romantic man but he's far from that. The last strong relationship he had was 16,no, 13 years ago and how long had that lasted? The people who he's closest to at the moment are his crew and that's probably the most he's going to involve himself with relationship wise.

He tries not to show it but he has a deep seated fear rooted inside of him that is reluctant to lose anyone again. He's 26 now and with full control over his fruit power so he's perfectly capable of safeguarding his crew but he does not want to add to the list of people to protect. There's only so much he can do to look after his crew and bonding with more people than that would only make it harder. The only exception is the alliance with the Straw hats and he's perfectly sure that they can take care of themselves.

Almost his entire upper body is inked yet he usually conceals the majority of them under his clothes. The ones on his hands can be easily explained but as for the rest of them, he prefers to keep them to himself. There's no need for him to needlessly show himself off and practically ask for someone to try poking their nose into his business. Nobody needs to know how hopelessly tangled he is in revenge, how complicated and distorted his past is, how dark and ugly life has made him.

He's not a monster like Doflamingo but he shudders at how if things had been different he could have easily become like him. He's better but only just. He can maintain his cool appearance all he likes, make as many plans as he needs to stay on top of things but really he knows what he's like. Inside, he's a mess of trauma,hatred,depression and guilt. That's what he hides underneath his clothes, behind all the walls he permanently keeps up and conceals behind a neutral expression just for good luck.

One day though, if he gets pushed too far, it won't matter what barriers he's put up, all his negativity is going to come spilling out and all he will be able to do is cry.


	7. Day 5- relationships

Corazon smiles sadly down at the boy he's taken charge of. He feels slightly guilty of dragging him around North Blue in an attempt to find a cure only to dredge up bad memories and make the whole thing worse. Law is sleeping peacefully now but who knows what sort of heartbreak Corazon will accidentally renew the next day. He's developing a fondness for him, one that he may or may not be aware of.

He takes a drag of his cigarette, accidentally sets himself on fire and spends the next few minutes rolling around and trying to put himself out. He sits back up and glances at the sleeping figure again. He admires Law slightly for trying not to let his past affect him but Corazon knows children have their limitation and they can only take so much. Law is just coping better than most but hatred can't fuel him forever.

All Corazon can do is treat him like the child he is and support him. Only thing is, Law is not the only one being taken care of. He has a maturity unusual for someone of his age and there's often times when the child has to do something for Corazon himself,usually in the form of cooking and patching up injuries. Any favours they do for each other somehow in one way or another get returned within the next day or few.

He has to remind himself that he took Law away to not only find a cure but to keep him away from Doflamingo's influence. He knows his brother like the back of his hand, knows he is a demon and he doesn't want Law to go the same way. He doesn't show it often but deep in Law, he still has a bit of humanity. He just needs to nurture it and one day he could be something great.

He has an ambition and if Corazon can only guide Law back to the light, convince him that there are good things out there, then maybe Law won't have to rely on his hatred anymore and he can end his connection with Doflamingo there. He's definitely no longer going to be able to have a normal life, that much is for sure but anything will be fine as long as he can have a chance at having a good life.

"You'll be someone awesome when you grow up Law, I know you will." Corazon mutters to no one in particular. "We'll definitely find your cure and you can be the amazing doctor you want to be."

Doflamingo glanced at the prisoner in his seat and chuckled. Law had been a fool to go fight him alone but Doflamingo understood his desperation considering how well Doflamingo had managed to collapse his plans. He silently commended his resistance anyway. He looked the unconscious surgeon up and down, admiring his body from his lanky legs to his fluffy hair. He waltzed up to him and ruffled his hair slightly, remembering bygone days when he used to stroke Law's hair as he slept.

His hand trailed down his face ,lightly flicking his earrings before lifting his chin so he could have a better look at Law's face. He smiled at his remarkable ability to stay good looking even when he was all bloody and beaten. There was an rare calm expression on there, one that contrasted with his usual frowns or smirks. Doflamingo loved his cute unconscious face, almost as much as he loved Law's attitude. When it was aimed at someone else that is. If he was sassing him off, sometimes he went too far and Doflamingo felt the compulsive need to punish him.

His eyes drifted down to Law's chest and he hissed at the tattoo leering at him from underneath the blood. Doflamingo glared down at it through his tinted sunglasses and tried to suppress the need to somehow erase the image. He took a few steps back and practically fell onto his sofa, attempting to calm himself down and resist the temptation to tear the whole building apart with his strings.

It frustrated him that he still got angry at even the mere thought of his dead brother. Why Law chose Corazon and not him, he had an inkling to the answer to that and he cursed his brother for turning Law against him. He guessed that Law had known what had happened to Corazon somehow and he detested how the events of those months had been enough to turn Law away from the path that Doflamingo had set him on.

If he had had his way, Doflamingo wouldn't have had to deal with this rebellion because Law would be sitting in that chair not as a prisoner but as one of his prized executives. Well, maybe not if Doflamingo had made his do the perennial youth operation but Law had an abundance of charismatic charm and potential that would probably make Doflamingo tempted to keep him alive.

Instead here he was, showing nothing but dedication to Corazon and the idea of avenging him. A part of him hopes that maybe Law will change his mind and that there's still a chance that Doflamingo can still stop him from being soft like his brother but he really knows that chance is slimmer than a piece of paper. Once Law sets his mind on a goal, it will take a lot to sway him. He sneers. "Just you wait Corazon, just you wait and see what happens if Law refuses to cooperate."

He'll give him a chance and only one chance. If Law even mutters the name Corazon, Doflamingo is going to slice him open.


	8. Day 6- doctor & pirate

Law knew from the moment he sat down on the bench and recognised the face of the girl sat there that he was dreaming.

"Hey there onii-chan!" Lamie grinned up at him. Even with both of them sat down, the height difference was painstakingly obvious and only highlighted the age difference between them. Law was in his late twenties now whilst Lamie was still only a kid, 8 years of age just like that day when their world crumbled to pieces.

Law smiled sadly at his little sister. "Hey."

She gestured up at his skippers hat. "Your new hat is cool."

"Thanks."

"...You know what onii-chan?" Law lifted a questioning eyebrow at her. "You're sooo not scary at all, surgeon of death." She said his epithet in a mocking tone and he simply blinked at her in disbelief as she stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner. Before he could say anything in response, she continued. "You may scare them but you'll never scare me!"

A smirk came onto his face. "So I guess you're not scared of the tickle monster then are you?" He said as he lunged to drag her to his lap so he could tickle her easier. Lamie kept trying to push his hands away and defend herself but he always found a way around her defences so she was helpless to do anything but laugh.

He stopped after a while to let her catch her breath and she returned to the spot where she was sat before. He reclined in the bench and they both stared at the trees before them for a few minutes in a comfortable silence before Lamie spoke up again. "So I heard you became a surgeon,no less a pirate doctor."

He hummed in agreement. "The pirate part wasn't originally in the plan but you know, things happened and that's where I am now." He buried his face into the collar of his coat slightly,his eyes only just barely peeking out over the top.

Unlike all the other pirates out there seeking treasure, he became a pirate to survive. He would have been completely fine with being a normal doctor. He would have been satisfied growing up at home and becoming a surgeon the normal way. He wasn't sure about the raising a family part but if he needed to he would have been fine with that as well. He didn't yearn for the sea, didn't have any outstanding desire to go on an adventure. He would have been almost completely happy with his life if those tragedies hadn't happened and pretty much ruined any chance of having a 'normal' life.

He was starting to have negative thoughts when he was broken out of his thoughts by a gentle slap in the face. He turned curiously to see a pouting face. "Onii-chan stop being so negative. Look you're being depressing again."

"Well sorry if me wishing for a normal life dampens your mood." Law said sarcastically.

"Law." She caught his attention with the use of his real name. "What did sister tell us? You have to keep looking at the bright side of things."

He let out a mirthless laugh. "What exactly is good about my life eh? Tell me." He glowered at her, challenging her to answer his question.

Lamie hummed a bit before she looked down at her fingers and started listing things off. "Well, you have your crew which has a fucking awesome Kung-fu fighting polar bear!" Law chuckled at that. "You're a super talented surgeon with a super cool devil fruit. You have a pirate alliance with that rubber dude. You have a submarine instead of a ship..." She listed off a couple more things before Law realised that everything she was listing had something to do with him being a pirate.

"Oi Lamie, are you planning on shutting up about me being a pirate anytime soon?" He sighed when she shook her head. "Why are you so bothered about it anyway?"

"Because being a pirate captain and a doctor at the same time is sooooo cool." Her smile had the power of a thousand suns and he couldn't help but smile back at her. "I don't think you realise what an achievement that is! Appreciate it."

Law's eyebrow twitched slightly but he forced himself to keep his temper in check. "I can't exactly appreciate everything I have knowing it's all been built on the sacrifices of others."

She tutted and gave him a disapproving look. "And that's exactly why you have to make the most of it so you're not wasting their efforts." She got into his lap and knelt on his thighs so she could stare into his eyes. "You're the big brother I love so much and that's why I want you to live life to the fullest." She whispered before giving him a chaste kiss on the nose.

He was so stunned by the action that the only thing that moved was his head as he watched his sister move off him and dust herself off when she landed on the floor. "Don't ever forget to look at the bright side of things Law."

She skipped down the path before turning to wave at him. "Tata onii-chan. Don't forget to take breaks when you need them. You work way too hard."

The dream cut off suddenly there and Law woke up to see Luffy grinning down at him, mirroring the smile he had seen on his dear sister moments ago. He let Luffy drag him up and as he did so, he smirked slightly. It probably was time for him to try looking at the world in a positive light. And among all the philosophical things Lamie had said, there was one thing he did need and that was a break.


	9. Day 7- Corazon

In the time that he spent on the Thousand Sunny, Law found that he couldn't help but compare certain crew members to Corazon,some more than others. It's not like he was searching for the connections, it's just that with the threat of Doflamingo gone for now, he has more time to reminisce about Corazon and in doing so, he accidentally stumbles across these reminders.

"Just let him go, he's free!"

Law recalls Corazon's last line and smirks to himself. He has a feeling that Corazon wasn't expecting Law to hold him in such high regards after he was gone and it just surprises him what low self-esteem he had. He would have been a heartless bastard if he'd just forgotten Corazon after everything he had done for him in those few months and Law would be lying if he denied ever having feelings for Corazon.

Law still thinks about his family from time to time and he treasures them just as much as Corazon but the memories from those times are so terrible that he tries to avoid thinking about them. The death of the former heart executive was no less traumatising but it is much easier for Law to dwell on the happy memories with Corazon without unwillingly drifting towards darker times. It pains him to have to acknowledge the fact that he can't remember his early childhood without thinking about that dreadful day and having some sort of negative reaction to that. He curses himself for still being severely affected by those events.

The Straw hat crew consists of a very wide variety of... members (Law's not quite sure that Chopper,Franky and Brook could count as humans). They all have their unique characteristics and most of them bare no resemblance whatsoever to his most cherished person but sometimes the little things they do remind him of something good.

Luffy's almost permanent grin reminds him of the last smile Corazon gave him before he shut him inside the box. They're not quite the same but he can see the resemblance. Corazon smiled quite regularly when he was still around and his repertoire of grins was just as wide as Luffy's is. Law is quite certain that Luffy smiles pretty much all the time except for when he's in a serious situation and even then sometimes he maintains that cheerful expression, laughing in the face of danger.

The way Zoro watches over his fellow crewmembers reminds him of how insulted Corazon would get on Law's behalf whenever he was called 'white monster' at the hospitals they visited. He doesn't deny that it was Corazon's idea in the first place to take him there but he understands that he didn't quite grasp how dire the situation was the first time. Law respects the fact that he kept trying, hoping that somewhere in North Blue, there would be a doctor who would take pity on Law and treat him despite seeing the same reactions triggered at each hospital. He's grateful that Corazon defended him and he thinks that was probably when he himself started to change from the hateful person he used to be to someone with more compassion,more understanding and a overall gentler personality.

He hasn't failed to notice the kindness Nami shows to children and it probably would have been hard for him to miss anyway. He'd gotten very used to Corazon's benevolence and it's not difficult for him to spot the same genuine quality in others. He rarely sees that sort of good will for others and Nami is one of the few people he has seen with this quality that automatically puts said person a small notch higher up on his list of tolerable people.

Usopp is a queer one;sometimes he shows fake bravado in an attempt to conceal his fear, other times he just openly shows his true feelings but of course Law's weird analytical eyes see something there too. Though they don't hold the same weight, Usopp lies just like Corazon. Usopp lies because of his insecurity and in a way, Corazon did that too. He lied about not being a marine because he was worried that Law would hate him for it and while Law might have done that at the start of their journey all over North Blue, he certainly wouldn't have changed his mind later on when Corazon had done plenty of things to endear Law to him.

Sanji is perhaps the one with the closest resemblance to Corazon, appearance and personality wise . They're both blond smokers who care a lot for the people around them. Sanji is the opposite to Corazon in terms of clumsiness (he needs to be of course) but there was one mishap when a part of Sanji's clothes began to catch fire and he had to look away for a moment because otherwise he would have accidentally cracked a smile or even a chuckle. There are more similarities but he doesn't want to venture too deep; if he finds too many similarities, he might end up just seeing Sanji as another Corazon.

Chopper is almost a decade younger than him and by far the youngest of the crew. It's no surprise to Law then when he sees how much care the crew take of their beloved reindeer doctor. He's 17 but he acts like he's 10. Upon further inspection, the Straw hat crew appears more like a family than a pirate crew and as he casually inserts the members into different family positions, it reminds him of when he was still a part of the Donquioxte family. The childish trio formed by Luffy, Usopp and Chopper is almost like a more cheerful,less morbid version of his own trio with Buffalo and Baby 5. If he squints, he can find that even back then Corazon was looking out for him.

Robin is a cool and calculated woman and though Corazon definitely was not cool, he certainly was calculated even if he only saw mere glimpses of the cunning man behind the ditzy facade he put up around Law. When he thinks of the plan that Corazon had concocted to allow Law to escape, Law realises that Corazon was a capable tactician even under the circumstances back and Law don't talk much but even as they acknowledge each other with a mere nod, Law knows she's observing her surroundings just like Corazon used to.

Franky appears to be a pronounced father figure and role model for some of the crew and although his fashion sense and sexual orientation are questionable, Law still seems to make a connection somehow. Corazon was a father figure in much the same way. His biological father only carried him along the way for the first ten years of his life and the two years after that were pretty much a loveless zone (he doesn't even want to consider Doflamingo as a father figure). Corazon was the first one after the tragedy of Flevance to treat him like the child he was and not a freak. In some ways, he also influenced some of Law's current personality traits and he knows that.

Brook is perhaps the most curious member and one that raises many questions in Law's head. He doesn't have much to note about Brook but he does pick up on the times when he lends a listening ear to a crewmate in a dilemma. It's like how Corazon was the only one to listen to him truly. The family were all fixated on his hatred and aimed to fuel it but the heart executive was the exception. He is indebted to Corazon for seeing past the angry demeanor he had set up to the sad,traumatised boy hidden within. If Corazon hadn't made the effort to try and change the path he was on, Law might have ended up as Doflamingo's heart executive, depraved and beyond saving.

"Don't become like my brother!"  
"I want to be like that!"

Hah, what a sick joke. He can imagine himself being one of Doflamingo's pitiful executives. He pictures himself in that chair along with the other executives before he shakes away the image of him with dead eyes and a feather boa. The thought of him inheriting Doflamingo's love of feather coats was laughable. He supposes he does like feathery things right now but that's because of Corazon and not his detestable brother.

He buries his nose into the feather collar of his shirt breathing in a mix of the sea air and remnants of his own scent from the feathers. Corazon could say he was free all he likes but Law was not about to let him go. Yes Law finally has his revenge and he has his own life with his own goals to achieve but that does not mean that Law will forget Corazon that quickly. Nobody is going to stop him from keeping all the reminders he wants to have.

He takes a sip from his cup and he realises then that the tea that was in there has now gone cold. Instead of scowling though, his lips turn up slightly at the edges. It's not a smirk this time, it's a genuine smile at this faint reminder of the first time he met Corazon. True, the tea that Corazon had had been more than piping hot and the one in front of him is lukewarm at best but as always, his mind seems to have made a connection somehow.

"TORAOOOOOOO!"

Law jumps at the sudden rise in volume right next to his ear and he turns to look at Luffy. "What?" He asks irritably.

"You were smiling nishishishi." Luffy says.

"...I suppose I was." And Law let's that smile stay on his face.


End file.
